Pak, the predictable: Don146;s not here

Denying that Mumbai underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim lived in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday accused the US of going to the UN with 8216;8216;...

Denying that Mumbai underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim lived in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday accused the US of going to the UN with 8216;8216;unsubstantiated linkages8217;8217; despite repeated clarifications.

Reacting to the US notification branding Dawood as a global terrorist with a Pakistani passport and address in Karachi, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman in a statement said both his passport number and address were incorrect. 8216;8216;The locators given by the US are not correct8230;they should rectify the alleged linkage to Pakistani documentation and location,8217;8217; he said.

US rules out FTA with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The US has ruled out the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan, dealing a blow to Islamabad8217;s hopes of clinching the deal as a reward for its efforts in the war on terrorism. Visiting US Assistant Trade Representative Ashley Wills said there was little chance of US signing such a treaty with Pakistan. 8216;8216;I want to be very honest, I do not see this FTA as a possibility,8217;8217; and it was not going to happen in the next few years, Wills said. Pakistan has already cashed in on its exports to US by pushing its textile exports to 2.31 billion in 2002 from about 426 million in 1999 by obtaining different trade concessions. PTI

8216;8216;Pakistan has, in the past, denied the presence of Indian national Dawood Irabhim on Pakistani soil,8217;8217; the statement said. 8220;Fresh inquiries revealed that the passport number given by the US as that of Dawood Ibrahim belonged to one Imtiaz Hussain,8221; it said adding that the address and the phone number too did not tally. 8216;8216;Dawood Ibrahim does not have Pakistani travel document nor is he residing in Pakistan8217;8217;, the spokesman said. Earlier, Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said Pakistan would act if any country furnished information about Dawood8217;s whereabouts.

Without referring to past Indian communications to Pakistan asking for his repatriation, the Minister said: 8216;8216;If somebody is aware of his whereabouts, we will act on that information.8217;8217; PTI

Pak convicts three over plot to kill Musharraf

Karachi: A Pakistani court convicted three Islamic militants on Saturday of an assassination bid on President Pervez Musharraf last year, handing down 10-year jail terms to each of them. The militants belonged to the Al-Almi faction of Harkat-ul Mujahideen. All three were found guilty of plotting to kill Musharraf in April last year. The three 8212; Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Hanif and Mohammad Ashraf 8212; were accused of parking a car packed with explosives along a route the President was to take but the detonator failed. Reuters